Senate Democrats criticized Republicans for "twisting the rules of the U.S. Senate" by using a little-known senate rule to silence Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass) during debate over attorney general nominee Jeff Sessions. (Jenny Starrs/The Washington Post)

If the Republican senators had intended to minimize Warren's message, the decision backfired — severely.

Her supporters immediately seized upon McConnell's line — giving Warren a far bigger megaphone than if they had simply let her continue speaking in what had been a mostly empty chamber, some pointed out.

As had been the case through a long, embittered presidential campaign (see: “basket of deplorables,” “nasty woman"), an off-the-cuff phrase meant to end a debate was instead turned into a badge of honor by the other side.

#ShePersisted, #LetLizSpeak and “Silencing Elizabeth Warren” were among Twitter's top trending topics in the United States by Wednesday morning.

Women in particular bristled at the sentiment — essentially, to sit down and stop talking — and noted it was hardly unfamiliar to them.

Let's be real. What happened to @SenWarren is not a new phenomenon, and every woman watching knows EXACTLY what is going on. #letlizspeak

For her part, Warren did persist in reading King's letter in its entirety — outside the Senate chamber, on Facebook Live, where it garnered over 4.5 million views by early Wednesday morning.

After Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) struck down Sen. Elizabeth Warren's (D-Mass.) attempt to read a letter from Coretta Scott King on the floor of the Senate during the debate on attorney general nominee Jeff Sessions, Warren read the letter outside the doors of the Senate and streamed it live. (Facebook/Sen. Elizabeth Warren)